Hackers Demand Sony Halts the Release of ‘The Interview’…Or Else

It’s been a really tough time to work at Sony Pictures. The studio was recently the victim of a massive hacking by a mysterious group with unclear intentions. Unreleased films were dumped onto Torrent sites. Employee personal information was stolen. Embarrassing memos and notes were released. Still, as bad as things were, it was hard to believe that the nation of North Korea was behind it all, with their attack being a retaliation for the upcoming comedy ‘The Interview.’ Surely an entire country, even a country run by a mad dictator, would have better things to do with their time than assault a movie studio for making a politically charged (but goofy) comedy. Right?

Well, the latest update in the story pretty much confirms it: either the hackers are working with or for the North Korean government or they’re doing an awfully good job of faking it.

‘The Interview,’ the latest film from ‘This is the End’ directors Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, follows two American journalists (Rogen and James Franco) who secure an interview with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, only to be roped into a plot to assassinate him for the American government. It looks funny but, the only person not laughing was Kim Jong-un, who decided to put off feeding his starving citizens for another year or two so he could dedicate himself fully to taking down this movie. There was a lot bluster and a whole bunch of threats, and then the hacking of Sony Pictures began.

The latest demand from the hackers can be found over at The Verge. Unlike previous messages, this one actually has demands outside of vague, frightening threats: Sony must delay the release of ‘The Interview,’ “the movie of terrorism,” or face the consequences. Here’s the message in full:

We have already given our clear demand to the management team of SONY, however, they have refused to accept. It seems that you think everything will be well, if you find out the attacker, while no reacting to our demand. We are sending you our warning again. Do carry out our demand if you want to escape us. And, Stop immediately showing the movie of terrorism which can break the regional peace and cause the War! You, SONY & FBI, cannot find us. We are perfect as much. The destiny of SONY is totally up to the wise reaction & measure of SONY.

Kim Jong-un is such a third rate supervillain. Most of the world’s maniacal tyrants devote their resources to some kind of grand (and misguided) political cause. This guy is just butthurt because a movie makes fun of him. That’s just like something out of, uh, a Hollywood comedy.

‘The Interview’ opens on Christmas Day and it is now your patriotic duty to go see it. Sony and its employees are going through hell right now. If you want to battle evil, make some plans to spend two hours of your holiday with Mr. Rogen and Mr. Franco. Do what they did on ‘SNL’ last weekend: laugh in the face of a monstrous situation. Stand up for freedom! Stand up for ‘The Interview’!

(Huh. Look what you’ve done, Kim Jon-un. You’ve got us rallying around a movie we haven’t even seen yet. Some victory for you.)